1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lamp shade soldering aid which is suitable for variable positioning of a stained glass lamp shade to facilitate soldering.
Stained glass lamp shades are constructed of pieces of stained glass soldered together. A large stained glass lamp may have hundreds of pieces of stained glass, with a corresponding number of seams between the pieces of stained glass. The seams between the pieces of glass are important not only for their structural qualities, but also for their aesthetic qualities. The aesthetic properties are particularly important for the portion of the seams which can be observed when the lamp is in use.
The pieces of stained glass are frequently soldered together by the copper foil method. In the copper foil method, copper tape is wrapped around each edge of each piece of stained glass. The copper tape provides a portion which can be soldered. The pieces of stained glass may then be positioned and tacked in place by soldering a small portion of one piece to a small portion of another piece. One method of assisting the positioning of pieces uses a mold, for example of styrofoam. Tacking does not permanently secure the pieces, and therefore is only temporary. Care must be taken not to stress the tacked pieces, or the tacking will break apart. After tacking, all of the seams are rough soldered, the solder holding the pieces of stained glass together. The seams between the pieces of stained glass must further be finish soldered so that the lamp has an attractive appearance.
Finish soldering is accomplished one seam at a time. To finish solder a seam, solder is applied with a soldering iron to the copper foil at the seams. The most attractive seams are achieved by heating the solder along one seam until it is in a liquid state. The solder then solidifies into a seam having a smooth appearance.
Since the solder is in a liquid state during the finish soldering, the seam must be horizontal. If the seam is not horizontal, the solder will tend to run downward, resulting in uneven application of solder, or even resulting in the solder running off of the seam.
When finish soldering, therefore, each seam must be horizontal. The lamp shade must be angled so that each seam is horizontal. This is difficult since the lamp shade is an awkward shape. Positioning the lamp so that the inside seams can be easily reached presents another problem. Yet another problem is presented when the lamp shade includes a crown on top, having seams which must be soldered by holding the lamp shade at an awkward angle.
Since stained glass lamp shades frequently have repeating patterns, each seam usually has corresponding seams requiring the same angling of the lamp shade. Thus, the lamp shade can advantageously be rotated about its axis to the corresponding seam in the next repeat.
While positioning the lamp shade, care must be taken to not disturb or break the tacked or rough soldered pieces. Furthermore, a craftsman performing the soldering holds the solder in one hand and the soldering gun in the other, and thus has no free hands to hold the lamp shade.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Therefore, various devices for holding a stained glass lamp shade during soldering have been developed. The most primitive but most popular device is a large box filled with crumpled newspaper.
One other type of conventional device for holding a stained glass lamp shade relies largely on a vase cap which is soldered to the apex of the lamp shade. The vase cap has a hole in the top, through which a shank can be inserted. The lamp can then be rotated about the shank. This has the unfortunate effect of placing all of the stress on the vase cap area and can result in deformation of the lamp shade. Therefore, this can only be used with smaller lamp shades.
Another type of conventional device for holding a stained glass lamp shade uses a stationary base beneath the lamp shade and threads a shank through the vase cap. A nut placed on top of the vase cap is used to clamp the lamp shade to the base. However, the method of clamping tends to over-tighten, thus distorting or even breaking the lamp shade. Furthermore, this device does not provide for soldering the inside seams, and thus only solves a portion of the problem. Also, because the shade must be rotated on top of the stationary base, the copper tape on the pieces of glass on the bottom of the shade tends to tear.
Yet another type of conventional device for holding a stained glass lamp shade provides a method for soldering the inside seams by providing fixed side supports on which the lamp shade can rest. Further support may be provided by inserting a shank through the vase cap. This device has the drawback that the support provided is not sturdy and does not conform to the variable shape of the lamp shade. It also has the further drawback of requiring manually lifting and rotating the lamp on the device to reach other seams.
Other devices have been known which provide the rotational variability. As mentioned above, conventional devices provide that the lamp shade can be rotated about a shank through the vase cap. However, the lamp shade is rotated to one position and then fixed by clamping down on the vase cap. Each act of clamping presents the danger of over tightening and thus deforming or breaking the lamp shade. The device used to clamp is spun up the shank, presenting an additional risk of breaking the lamp if it flies off the shank.
Other drawbacks of conventional devices are that they do not provide for incremental positioning of the shade. Numerous other complex mechanisms have been tried to overcome all of these problems with a resulting increase in complexity. There remains a need for a simple stained glass lamp shade soldering aid which can successfully adapt to the shape of various lamp shades, is easily used even with large lamp shades, and does not tend to break or distort the lamp shade.